6th grade art passports

My 6th graders are caught somewhere between elementary and middle school. They are part of the middle school for much of their schedule, but still come to the elementary art and music rooms, and have art on an elementary schedule. I see them twice in a 6 day rotation. BUT they get a number grade on their report card, like middle schoolers, so these "passports" are what I devised for their grading system. I used the idea of a passport because some of what we do in 6th grade art takes us to different places, cultures, civilizations, and eras in history. So a passport seems to suit their art program. I'll explain how we make them and how the grading works.

First, we make a tagboard cover, and 2 punch half-holes on the spine. We punch matching half-holes on the folded pages to put inside. Here's how a page looks opened after being punched.

Then, the pages are stacked on the open cover, and a rubber band is inserted from one hole to the other. A stick is slid through the rubber band ends on the outside of the cover. This time, I used meat skewers cut to length, but I've used drink stir-sticks, branches, etc. The possibilites are endless, and the assembly process is quick and easy.

For their best grade, students had to follow some basic guidelines: their name had to be on the front and their teacher's name or initial on the back. After that, they were to personalize them however they wanted. Here's Emily's front cover, and yes, those basic rules are written on a BLACKBOARD!!!!

Here's the front page that needs to be filled in. Then, the other pages all have a place to write the name of the assignment, and something about your work. Again, here's what Emily wrote. The blank page to the right is where I write my comments, plus I stamp it with a different stamp for each project, and sign, date, and record the grade. I haven't done that yet.

Below is Kyla's example of what she wrote in her passport. In the second photo, you'll notice the drawing of herself that she did on the front page. I told the kids, as was written on the blackboard, that if they included pictures of themselves they would get extra credit. I like Kyla's imaginative interpretation of that opportunity to boost her grade.

These are the qualities I look for when determining grades for all 6th grade art projects and assignments:

The kids absolutely love using the passports (they get to keep them at the end of the year) and think it is really cool to get grades in art!